Halloween in Miniature: Wicked Witches

Nothing says Halloween better than a boiling cauldron, a secret spellbook and a few witchy women who aren't afraid to cast a spell or two.

The classic Halloween witch with warts, long grey hair, a pointy black hat and her black cat at her side is probably one of the more favorite characters to create in miniature. Witches, though, like people, come in all shapes and sizes. (Note: dollhouse dolls featured here are in the traditional 1" or 1/12th scale where 1" equals 1 foot. Most female dolls average 5.5 inches tall.)


Halloween Fashionista

Take the work of Montana doll artist Gina Gagnon. She brings more than just exquisite design and dressmaking skills to her dolls, as seen in her latest creation, a witch she calls Gladys.

This witch, who is a fashionista of sorts, isn't willing to be seen outside in just anything, of course. Instead, she's wearing a Gagnon original including a suede cloth cloak, a raw silk undress, and don't forget the stylish midnight blue pointy shoes.

Gladys whom Gina hopes someone will buy "and give her the witch house of her dreams," is memorable for more than her wardrobe, though. Gina invariably adds a touch of humor to her dolls to make them memorable.

Consider this view of Gladys, waving goodbye to her friend Myrtle, who's riding off on her broom in the unseen distance. But Gladys isn't just waving goodbye, her creator insists: "She's trying to tell Myrtle that she's forgotten to wear her underwear!"

The Many Faces of Nancy

In the hands of miniature doll artisan Nancy Cronin, the wicked witch has a charm all her own.

Her witches – all hand-sculpted from polymer clay, some are cast in resin as well - are characters that Disney wishes his artists had dreamed up. Her witches are ghostly white, dressed in traditional black and looking a bit matronly, and shades in-between. Look and you'd swear you can almost hear them cackle.



Pretty, they're not. In fact, most of her dolls don't have a pinch of Hollywood beauty about them, which is just the way Nancy (and everyone else) likes them. "I do a lot of people watching," Nancy says. "Most people aren't pretty."


Pretty in Black

The word "witch" usually has one meaning to most people. But Dutch doll maker and collector Christa Chayata had a different view when she made her miniature witch.



The doll, which Crista made using the "Gertie" mold by Cynthia Howe, was inspired by a witch hat from Margriet van der Zee that she won in a contest on the MiniDollList.

The hat was so pretty, that well… "What is such a beautiful hat without a witch?" Christa says. "I mostly don't like ugly witches, so I tried to make one that looks a bit nice."

And she does, doesn't she? In fact, in this case, they all look nice (but don't tell them. Witches must keep their reputations after all.)

** Don't forget to visit A Fanciful Twist today for more Halloween fun!

** Add your comments today and in the following days for the chance to win a copy of my spooky ebook, The Witch Tree.

Boo! Come to a Halloween Party Tomorrow!

The blog, A Fanciful Twist, is hosting a Halloween party! Be sure to visit her blog and all the participating sites, including mine tomorrow (Sat, 10/18)!

I'm in a Halloween mood, so come back to my blog tomorrow. I'll have the first of many special features for Halloween as a prelude to my Spooky Online Book Tour featuring my Miniature Art Mystery, Searching For A Starry Night & my spooky ebook, The Witch Tree.

One person commenting here tomorrow through Nov. 4, and at sites participating in my spooky book tour (site list to come), will win a free copy of my ebook, The Witch Tree.

Hope to see you! Boo!

Art in Miniature: Interpreting Vermeer's 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'

Sometimes what you don't see is as important of what you do see.

In a previous post, I highlighted an amazing project by miniature doll artisan Lucie Winsky, who is recreating several famous artists and their masterpieces in 1/12th dollhouse scale. You can see the figures she has completed so far here.

Lucie's latest commission, interpreting the work of Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, has proven to be even more challenging.

To make his now famous masterpiece, "Girl with a Pearl Earring" (Het Meisje met de Parel), come to life, Lucie found herself with a dilemma. Interestingly, it is one of those things that most of us probably overlook. Can you guess what it is?

"I have seen other miniature doll artists' representations of the 'Girl with the Pearl Earring' in the past and she was standing, which is why I had the idea in my head until I saw the movie," says Lucie.


Hollywood Meets Vermeer

Ah, Hollywood strikes again. But it does present an interesting question - is the "Girl with the Pearl Earring" seated or standing?

Some people make the argument that many of Vermeer's portraits do feature women who are seated, although he seemed to have painted an equal amount of women standing as judged by the works featured in this gallery.

Does it matter? Not really, except that for a doll artist, the doll's position does have an impact on the body proportions, especially in miniature scale. (Miniature dollhouse sized dolls are 1 inch scale or 1 inch = 1 foot).

Lucie's final decision?

She decided to make only half-legs for the doll and have her stand -but the doll can be seated if the new owner chooses. "A sitting doll is a bit different as you have to make the legs a bit longer when you assemble her so her feet will touch the floor," she says.

I will post a photo when the doll is completed.

The painting, completed by Vermeer in the mid-1600s and now housed in The Hague, The Netherlands, was virtually unknown until its sale in the late 1880s. Read more about "The Girl with a Pearl Earring" here.

** Your Turn: What's your opinion? Do you think "The Girl with the Pearl Earring" is seated or standing? Feel free to share your reason why.

Old Dogs are Best Dogs

The Washington Post tends to have some interesting dog and animal photo galleries, with today's maybe more thought provoking than usual, at least to me.

Titled, "Old Dogs are Best Dogs," the gallery features a poignant collection of photos of faithful friends who have long passed puppyhood.

Some are blind, some have eyes that look a bit hazy, but all are faithful, loving companions who've been by their master's/mistresses' sides for 10, 12, even 16 years. Who can beat a friendship like that?

In this odd economy, dogs are often the silent, overlooked victims. A recent article I read stated that here in my area of Wisconsin, at least 10 dogs had been turned into the local humane shelter in one week. Sadly, some people are feeling the pinch, many are hurting. But the newspaper also revealed our society's growing selfishness - saying that many families had to make the choice to fill the car or feed the dog.

Yes, gas has taken a big chunk out of people's wallets; yes, getting to work is a necessity. Many people are now regretting those huge, gas-guzzling SUV's and trucks. But... I can't help but wonder, what have they cut out of their lives? Have they stopped eating out? Have they cut back and begun cooking simple, penny stretching meals at home if need be? (Remember those filling meals like Chili Mac?) Quit smoking - drinking alcohol or that Starbucks? How about cable TV, satellite, what else?

I've had dogs all my life. Only once did I give up a dog that we couldn't control. Fortunately, the Shepherd mix ended up being trained as a therapy dog for a wheelchair-bound woman. Otherwise, I've always viewed a dog as a life-long choice. They grow attached; they love and await you. They depend on you and they grieve.

I don't want to over-simplify, but there is so much waste, foolish spending, selfishness, and over-eating in our society. There has to be something, somewhere, that a person can give up before they make such a terrible, unbelievable choice.

The dog or the car? Which one would you choose?

** Your Turn: if things got that bad, what would you do about the family pet? Could you give them up or how would you adjust?

Random Thoughts on Writing: Newspapers

Having a journalism degree and dozens of years under my belt writing for newspapers, I admit a special affinity for news on the printed page. Yes, I read stuff online, but I still like to sit down with a newspaper open at lunch or dinner.

Of course, most people's reading habits have spelled a death knell for the printed page. Call it naive, but I remember the shock I felt when someone I'd sent a box to had no newspaper around to use as wrapping and padding- not one page. She confessed to reading only online. The printed page is still the first choice I think for most people over 50 as lifelong habits are hard to break, but for many younger readers, unless their parents were regular newspaper readers, the daily paper just isn't that important.

I would hope, though, that those looking for news are at least perusing papers online and not depending on TV network news only. With sound bites and bias, there's a lot overlooked and a lot left unsaid.

Newspapers have been trying to change their style - trying to get hipper, shorter, a la USA Today, in hopes of gaining new readers, keeping what they have - and cutting costs. Shorter stories, less newsprint. But the latest economy crunch, combined with the escalating costs in newsprint, has publishers hanging on by their fingernails.

Papers are bleeding readers and the changes they often make to try to hang on aren't always for the better. Some go the diet route, making the paper trimmer in pages and leaner in content. The result? A paper that has much less to read, and fewer pages. I know they're trying to stay in business, but the end result can make that 75 cents even harder to spend if you think you're getting even less for your money.

** Your Turn: Do you read the newspaper in print or online? Do/did you read in print? What made you change (or not change your reading habits?)

Tag, I'm It - 6 Book Things Meme

Helen over at Straight from Hel saved me from having to quickly dream up a blog post while I try to get back on track here.

Today's Meme: Name 6 Book Things about Yourself

Okay here goes:

1. In case you didn't know, my book, Searching For A Starry Night is partly inspired by my own interest in collecting and creating dollhouse miniatures. I love working on projects when I'm not writing. I even have the actual miniature replica of "Starry Night" done by talented miniaturist and artist Lucie Winsky. You can read more about her and see the miniature painting here.

2. I like to collect vintage books from the early 1900s. I only have a few but try to find them cheap at flea markets, etc. mostly for the cover decorations and inside art. I also want to try preserving some of that art in miniature by framing the smaller images.

3. I get a kick out of miniature books. I thought of making a mystery bookstore in miniature but the idea of creating all those books is still daunting. Many are only covers with blank pages but I admire anyone who has the courage (and patience!) to do it.
Check out this French chateau library; or for something slightly different, how about tiny rooms based on storybooks.

4. I like to re-read certain books. A few favorites include Dracula by Bram Stoker, Gone with the Wind, The Agony and the Ecstasy, Salem's Lot...

5. I'm still trying to finish my adult mystery set in a diner. I read someone else's book or another story and then fear I'm on the wrong track. :?)

6. I used to read one book at a time. If I'm hooked, I'll speed through it non-stop. Others I enjoy but read here and there. I have four books I'm reading right now.

** Your Turn: Share some book-related things about you. Be sure to comment here so we know to go visit your blog and see what you wrote.

** I TAG:
* Katie - Katie's Clay Corner
* Morgan Mandel
* Emma Larkins
* Mary Cunningham

Eye Candy: Katie's Clay & Miniature Creations

Photo: Katie's clay Frankenstein cane

The fun thing about being online is finding new friends who share your interests and whom you can learn from. It's been fun "meeting" Katie of Katie's Clay Corner as I've found another miniatures lover - and someone who also enjoys Halloween!

Katie and I have talked about various things. She's a talented artist (check her past blog posts for links to her art), which results in her trying things that I wouldn't attempt, such as her latest Frankenstein cane. (See photo above.) It began with her making some bowls from leftover colored clay, and being the instigator that I am, :>) I suggested why not make some Halloween dishes? The results were an incredible haunted house cane that she made into miniature Halloween dinnerware. That was followed up by the even more amazing Frankenstein cane, which she made into cute bowls. Cool huh?

Katie and I have had fun trading, with her making a cute Halloween roombox she calls "Frankie's Place."


She just revamped it and added some more cool handmade clay items like the cauldron and pumpkins. We are doing another swap so it'll be fun to see what she adds next. I warned her that an extension might be in order. ha!

Be sure to come back for a look at more Halloween miniatures this month!

** Your Turn: Got any favorite Halloween sites you like or projects you've made? Feel free to share them!

Meet the Author: Short Story Writer John M. Floyd

Mississippi author John M. Floyd could be called the king of shorts - short stories, that is.

All told, this prolific author has written - and published - more than 600 short stories and fillers in top publications including, "The Strand Magazine," "Grit," "Woman's World" and "Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine." Not bad for someone who's been writing for 25 years, but only began getting his stories published in 1993.

A former Air Force captain and now retired after 30 years with IBM, Floyd calls himself "happily worthless." An understatement, considering he still enjoys writing whenever he can.

His new book, MIDNIGHT (Dogwood Press, 2008) features a collection of 30 stories of various genres, from mystery to humor, romance, science fiction, and more. Of note are eight more stories featuring bossy schoolteacher Angela Potts and her long-suffering former student Sheriff Chunky Jones (who, by the way, have appeared in several of Floyd's Mini Mysteries published in "Woman's World" magazine, found at the grocery and WalMart checkouts.)

Writing on the Side

Floyd actually began writing stories as a lark and found he enjoyed it: "I started writing short stories just as a way to pass the time, when I was traveling the globe with IBM and spending a lot of hours alone in airplanes and airports and hotels, etc.--and soon found that I loved dreaming up tales and putting them on paper."

He's since found publishing success, with his fiction being nominated three times for the Pushcart Prize. He also was the winner of the 2007 Derringer Award for short mystery fiction presented by the Short Mystery Fiction Society.

Besides fiction, he has delved into nonfiction and wrote some articles, poems and essays, "but I don't think they're as much fun to write as fiction," he says. "Most of my nonfiction is on the subject of writing, which makes it less of a chore. I also write a weekly column at Criminal Brief with six other mystery writers/readers, and have really enjoyed that."

His Favorite New Story

Asked if he has a favorite story and quote from his newest collection, Floyd picks one of his teacher-sheriff mysteries. In "Dry Spell," bossy retired schoolteacher Angela Potts has just helped the sheriff of her small town solve a case and he asks her how she found out who the robber was. "Snooping," she tells him, "is a full-time job."

With his fiction, Floyd says his goal is simply to be entertaining: "If something in them is educational or enlightening at times, that's so much the better, but my purpose is to write entertaining stories that I hope might bring enjoyment to the reader. If that happens, I'm happy."

And as long as he continues, so are readers.

* Learn more about Floyd's stories and book at Dogwood Press

Story Weds: Read something spooky-I dare you! & BBAW Interviews

At this time of year, my thoughts, at least, turn to things that go bump in the night, and I don't mean the dog bumping into something.

I love a good mystery and a good spooky story. Combine the two and it's a double whammy!

Here are some stories I found that you might enjoy reading. Be sure the lights are on!

* Author Gail Farrelly writes about a mafia princess who gets a new face... and a lot of trouble

* How about a spooky kid's story? The MysteryNet Chillers are still online.

* The Criminal Brief website has several spooky and other short mysteries by a variety of authors.

* Check out some free horror stories by these authors.

* This one sounds good, even if it's not online. R.T. Lawton's latest in his Holiday Burglars series of short stories, "Grave Trouble," features two bumbling burglars who intend to dig their way from a storm water drain system into the basement of a jewelry store, but end up in a casket room instead. Sorry, you'll have to wait to read this one in the Dec. issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine.

*Your Turn: Share some of your favorite Halloween mysteries or other short stories.



** BBAW: For more chills, you can read two new interviews with me at PopSyndicate and at Linus's Blanket. Don't say I didn't warn you. ha!

BBAW: Talking Books at Linus's Blanket

While she does go off on a different path once in a while, most roads on New Yorker Nicole B's blog,
Linus's Blanket, lead to books, books and more books.

For Nicole, blogging came along as a sideline, initially as a way to keep in touch with friends, but now, she's found a niche writing about books and her love of reading.

Her blog is full of books, interviews, and more; not bad for someone who's only been at it since this summer.

"I'm pretty new to blogging," she says. "I was going to be traveling a lot over the summer and mainly, I wanted a place that I could put up some pictures and share stories with my friends, but then somehow I got sucked into the world of book blogging. I was reading a lot while on vacation and started posting my thoughts and then started reading what other people were talking about on their blogs. I just got addicted and haven't really been posting about anything else, although I reserve the right to start posting other things." :-)

Nicole admits that the blog has come to feel comfortable, almost like being at home. She likes being able to discuss her likes, maybe her dislikes, and get the feelings of others. The bonus, she says, is that blogging has brought a whole new dimension to her reading, and her writing.

"I love having a place that I can go back and look at how I have felt about a certain book," she says. "Sometimes my thoughts change and now I can have a reference point and a record. Also, through blogging I am getting a ton of other recommendation from some great blogs. I'm reading some really great writing from other bloggers, which in turn helps me improve the content and quality of my own writing."

Reading, blogging and a few other things


Photo: What is this man doing? (Submitted photo)

The blog has become a kind of online home for Nicole, a place where she can sometimes wander into other "rooms" (or subjects), or go back and reflect on her previous interests.

"Mostly so far I am writing about the books I am reading although I do plan to branch out to traveling and eating, which are my other two loves," she says. "I love having a place that I can go back and look at how I have felt about a certain book. Sometimes my thoughts change and now I can have a reference point and a record. Also, through blogging, I am getting a ton of other recommendations from some great blogs and reading some really great writing from other bloggers, which in turn helps me improve the content and quality of my own writing."

While Nicole feels she's still too new at blogging to offer advice, she says it shouldn't be rushed. The main thing is to enjoy it.

"I think it just takes some trial and error and being patient with the process," she says. "I spend a lot of time trying to get the right feel for how I would like to talk about the books I have read and developing a format for me to present my ideas.

"I love to read a lot of blogs, but I have been trying to cut down on the number of blogs I read (just for a little while!) so that I can concentrate on getting to know some people.) I love to follow my comments. I appreciate folks stopping by and I have found some really great blogs so far. The book blogging community is lovely and I am enjoying becoming a part of it very much."

Nicole is a big reader, but she does take time for other activities, like bocce. Did you guess what the photo was about?

"When I'm not reading or more recently on the computer reading book blogs, I love to cook and to socialize," she says. "I am in a couple of book clubs and a friend hosts a game night in my neighborhood which I attend once a month. I throw dinner parties and I am also on a bocce league that plays on Sunday afternoons. I also like to go with my friends to sports games. I never watch them on TV, but I love to watch them live."

** Check out Nicole's 11 book bests lists.

** Your Turn: Be sure to stop by Linus's Blanket and comment. Share your favorite book.

** BBAW Contest: Post a comment about your favorite book here and at Nicole's blog to get your name entered to win a copy of my spooky ebook, "The Witch Tree." Be sure to leave a blog or website to contact you. Contest ends 9/30.

* Read other blogs and news for Book Blogger Appreciation Week at My Friend Amy's Blog

* Find new blogs and read other BBAW interviews here.